


One More Time

by spacefrankie



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Mentions of Jimmy Stone - Freeform, Not a reunion fic, i havent written a fic in so long, tenth doctor/rose mentioned, well not really a reunion fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-02 04:38:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12719820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacefrankie/pseuds/spacefrankie
Summary: "He didn’t mean to start talking with her, honest!" Sometime after losing the Ponds, the Doctor goes back to see a younger Rose Tyler, not talk to her, just see her, but things never go to plan. The Doctor worries about the temptation to take this younger Rose along with him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to try writing again (which i havent done in over 4 years) so if you have constructive criticism please comment it thank you! (it's probably not very good since i haven't written anything in so long but i wanted to try)

The Doctor didn’t mean to start talking with her, honest! He had just gone back to see her but when he saw that she was crying by herself on a park bench, he couldn’t help it (not that he really tried). That was how the Doctor found himself sitting on a bench next to Rose Tyler. Not his Rose Tyler, no she would have a few more years before she became his Rose Tyler, but she was still Rose and the Doctor couldn’t resist helping her.

“Had a bad day?”

Rose looked at him from the corner of her eyes and quickly wiped away her tears, “Yeah, you could say that.”

“Want to talk about it?” he asked.

Rose shrugged, hair falling from her shoulders. The Doctor thought she looked beautiful. Rose answered saying, “It’s just boyfriend troubles, don’t matter.”

The Doctor turned fully towards her and saw more tears roll down her face. She looked at the Doctor when he said, “It matters to me. I’ve met a lot of people in my life and you are clearly very important, going to do amazing things someday I can tell.” Rose couldn’t help but laugh a little bit at that.

“Can tell those kind of things, can you?” She gave the Doctor her tongue-touched smile that nearly stopped both the Doctor’s hearts.

He smiled widely at her and said, “Oh yeah, got a special gift for that, me.” He adjusted his bow tie and gave Rose a smug look which sent her into another bout of laughter and he laughed right along with her. He hadn’t felt this light in years, especially since losing the Ponds. Suddenly her smile turned sad.

“Well I think you’re wrong this time, mate.” Her gaze lowered to her lap and she fiddled with her hands.  
The Doctor stopped the motion with his own hands. Rose looked into her eyes and the Doctor said, “Don’t say that about yourself. You are going to do amazing things, inspire and save people, see things that no one has seen before, and it will be fantastic.”

Rose laughed ironically and more tears welled up in her eyes. “You’re daft. The only person to ever see anything special in me and I don’t even know your name.” He was tempted to tell her that he was the Doctor just so he could her his name from her lips one more time but he knew that he couldn’t mess with timelines like that.

“John Smith,” the Doctor held out his hand for Rose to shake. “Rose. Rose Tyler.”

“Nice to meet you Rose Tyler,” he smiled broadly at her which she returned.

“I don’t know why you sat next to me but I’m glad you did, you somehow made me feel better. Must be that special gift of yours,” she joked

The Doctor fidgeted a little nervously, “Well I’m never one to let a beautiful girl sit by herself when she’s clearly upset.” The Doctor wasn’t looking at Rose anymore, nerves getting the better of him.

Rose was looking at the Doctor intently, biting her lip, considering what to say to his surprising admission. “You think I’m beautiful?”

Now it was the Doctor’s turn to be surprised. “Of course I do. You must get that all the time though, people telling you that you are beautiful, right?”

Rose looked down once again, “No, not so much recently.”

“Is it that boyfriend of yours?”

Rose didn’t answer. 

“If he doesn’t show you how beautiful you are, and you are frankly gorgeous Rose, then he is a giant idiot. You definitely deserve someone who will tell you and show you how amazing you are. You deserve the best in the universe.” The Doctor noticed how Rose still hadn’t said anything and he blushed, embarrassed by his outburst. “I’m sorry I tend to ramble quite a bit until someone shuts me up,” the Doctor said.

Rose was silent for a few more seconds, making the Doctor more nervous, until she suddenly said, “Do you want to go get some chips John? I’m starved.”

The Doctor’s head shot up and he quirked an eyebrow at Rose, “You have a boyfriend Rose Tyler.”

Rose rolled her eyes at him, “I’m not sayin’ we go out for a date, I just thought it might be nice to get some lunch with a friends.” she smiled at him, a smile that the Doctor wanted to see everyday for the rest of his lives.

But he couldn’t. He couldn’t spend everyday with her, couldn’t take her traveling, couldn’t mess up the timelines no matter how much he wanted to. That’s why he should say no. If he spends to long with her who knows if he will be able to resist asking her to travel with him. No, no he couldn’t, he logically knew he should leave right now and let his memory of Rose be enough.

“I would love to get chips with you, Rose.”

But then again he was never one to listen to logic.


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor hadn’t laughed like this in so long and it was incredibly refreshing. The adventures were obviously something The Doctor enjoyed but it wasn’t the same if he didn’t have someone to enjoy it with him. Him and Rose were always joking with each other, poking fun after they got out of a situation where they got into trouble with the locals (usually because of something the doctor said). Always laughing in the face of danger the two of them.  
Right now though, Rose was laughing at a story The Doctor was telling her (slightly modified of course)

"Oh come on you can’t be serious" Rose giggled.

"I swear! This city that I went to took offense to my bow tie and I simply tried to explain to them that bow ties are cool and-" The Doctor started.

"HA! Bow ties are not cool, no wonder the locals took offense to it"

"I’ll have you know that in some places this is the height of fashion!" The Doctor jutted his chin out and adjusted his bow tie.

Rose just smiled and hummed at him, doubtful, "And what places would that be then?"

Rose laughed when he blushed and stuttered, unable to come up with an answer. In fact there were many planets where bow ties were the height of fashion or where they displayed incredible wealth but he couldn’t exactly tell Rose that. He was pretty sure she didn’t believe him about "the city that hates bow ties". 

"well I’ve been to a lot of places, I can’t be expected to remember all the names."

Rose smirked, knowing that he was just making an excuse. They both fell silent for a bit and Rose put her chin in her hand and pushed her chips around thoughtfully. "It sounds amazin'. All those places, all those people. i can’t even imagine. I always wanted to travel, 'specially when i was a kid but I'm just an estate kid, an' traveling costs money. workin’ in a shop doesn’t pay much."

"Come with me." With that single sentence The Doctor felt timelines swirl around him, different answers that she gave leading to different paths, paths that shouldn’t happen. It was dizzying but for some reason The Doctor couldn’t bring himself to regret it. He needed her. He forgot how much he needed her after he regenerated, allowing the regeneration to push the more painful memories to the back of his mind but they were always there. She was always there. The Doctor and Rose Tyler, in the TARDIS as it should be. 

He looked at Rose with pleading eyes, looking far too desperate for someone who was supposed to be a stranger. He needed her to say yes. He could explain the TARDIS later but right now he needed her to answer. 

"I-I can't", Rose said, seeming regretful. The Doctor bowed his head. "I’m sorry but I can't. I don’t even know you!" she laughed humorlessly. "I have to stay here. I have my boyfriend, and my mum, and my job. I just don't think I could-"

"Rose its okay. i shouldn’t have asked I’m sorry for putting pressure on you. and I am a stranger, a very strange stranger, I understand" The Doctor didn’t know what he was thinking. Now that the moment of insanity had passed, he realized what a mistake it had been to ask. How would he have avoided destroying the timelines? How would he explain the TARDIS to her and have her not change her mind? It just didn’t make sense. And yet, The Doctor still yearned for her to change her mind, to say yes, consequences be damned.

"I really should go, Rose. I didn't plan to stay here long. Stayed much longer than I planned actually so I really must go."

"John please don't leave I really am sorry" Rose pleaded, feeling more attached to this man than she should.

Rose calling him John felt like a physical blow. "No really Rose I’m not leaving because of you. I only stayed longer because of you in the first place. I really do have to go." Rose stood with The Doctor and gave him the last hug he would ever get from her again. "I hope I get to see you again."

"Oh trust me you will, Rose Tyler. Just you try and stop me."

And she would see him again, but he would never see her again. The Doctor walked back to the TARDIS feeling very much as lonely as he had when he first lost Rose. Walking back into the TARDIS alone after expecting Rose to board with him made him feel like his magnificent bigger-on-the-inside ship was too big. He clenched his hand into a fist, yearning for a hand to hold. 

He closed the doors of the TARDIS and sent her into the vortex, alone as he was before he had landed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long I wasn't satisfied with the ending (still not sure I like it) I feel liked it's too cheesy but hopefully I'll get better over time

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like the doctor mightve come off more like the tenth doctor than the eleventh doctor im not sure. thank you for reading! please please please please comment!


End file.
